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Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas
Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas was the Constitutional President of Bolivia for a period of five months between April and September 1969.
Born in La Paz, Luis Adolfo Siles was the son of former president Hernando Siles (1926-1930) and half-brother of another famous Bolivian politician and two-time president, Hernan Siles (1956-1960 and 1982-1985). Educated as a lawyer in his native country, he also obtained a doctorate in Spain. Siles eventually joined the small Partido Democrata Cristiano (Christian-Democrat Party), which supported Rene Barrientos in the 1966 elections. In fact, Siles ran as General Barrientos' vice-presidential running mate, and was sworn-in in that capacity after their ticket prevailed at the polls. Siles became President when Barrientos was killed in a helicopter crash near Arque, Cochabamba, on April 27, 1969.
Returning to Bolivia during the dictatorship of Hugo Banzer (1971-78), Siles played a prominent role as a defender of human rights. He ran for president in 1980, but failed to garner much support. Despite leading a relatively small party, Siles vociferously opposed the 1980-81 dictatorship of Luis Garcia Meza. Respected for his steadfast stance in defense of democratic principles, he died in 2005.
Related websites
Vicepresidency of Bolivia
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas
